"Whenever You're on My Mind" is a 1983 song by American rock musician
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway", a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl", and " Whenever You're on My Mind". He is ...
. The song was released on his 1983 album ''
Field Day
Field day may refer to:
* For the armed forces use and its derivatives, see wiktionary:field day
* Field day (agriculture), a trade show
* Field Day (amateur radio), an annual amateur radio exercise
* Field Day (band), a Canadian pop-punk band fro ...
''. The song, notable for its booming production, originally was written during the making of Crenshaw's
debut album but was saved for his second album release. Crenshaw felt the song was his best to date, and the song was released as ''Field Day's'' first single.
Released in 1983, the single saw early success on college radio but underperformed commercially. Crenshaw later pointed to the commercial disappointment as a factor in the deterioration of his relationship with
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
. Despite this, it has become one of Crenshaw's more famous songs and has seen critical acclaim. The song has been covered by multiple artists.
Background
"Whenever You're on My Mind" was first written during the creation of Marshall Crenshaw's
self-titled debut album, but Crenshaw decided to save the song for a later time. Crenshaw later said "I felt rushed doing ''Field Day'' but I was ready to take it on; I was ready to take up the challenge to do a second album. I had a couple songs leftover from my first album. I kept 'Whenever You're On My Mind' sort of in my back pocket for the future."
A demo version of the song has been included on the
Rhino
A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
reissue of Crenshaw's debut album.
Crenshaw co-wrote the song with Bill Teeley, the brother of his former ''
Beatlemania
Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...
'' co-star Tom Teeley. Crenshaw was a fan of Teeley's lyrics in the Teeley brothers' band the Metromen.
Crenshaw gave Teeley the song title and asked him to channel "
I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. The song was written for the 1934 film ''Dames (film), Dames'', in which it was performed by Dick Powell. Several other successful recordings of the song were m ...
" for the song's lyrics. Crenshaw later described Teeley's lyrical contributions as "absolutely beautiful." Musically, Crenshaw credited "
When You Walk in the Room
"When You Walk in the Room" is a song written and recorded by Jackie DeShannon. It was initially released as a single on November 23, 1963, as the B-side to "Till You Say You'll Be Mine". It was re-released as an A-side in September 1964, and lat ...
" by
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...
as an influence.
Crenshaw credits the song's "big" drum sound to producer
Steve Lillywhite
Stephen Alan Lillywhite (born 15 March 1955) is an English record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts The Alarm ...
. He recalled "Steve had a lot of input in that. There's that big fill in the middle of the last chorus of 'Whenever You're on My Mind,' and that was his idea. The drums are big."
Crenshaw later said of the song, "I thought 'Whenever You're On My Mind' was the best thing we'd done up to that point. It was, like, 'the bomb,' as they say."
Release
"Whenever You're on My Mind" was released as the first single from the ''Field Day'' album, backed with "Jungle Rock." The song quickly became a successful college radio hit.
However, the song failed to replicate the chart success of his previous hit "
Someday, Someway," peaking at number 103 on the Billboard charts
and number 23 on the
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart.
Crenshaw later stated that he thought the song would be a "huge hit," recalling that the song was a regional hit in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, but the label "sat on their hands."
He later reflected on the song's performance: "If that had been a hit, it would have been really big for me. But things went sour quickly. My relationship with
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
went in the crapper, which was disappointing."
The song, however, has become one of Crenshaw's more well-known songs. Crenshaw later said "My brother posted on Facebook the other day that 'Whenever You're on My Mind' was playing in a
Wendy's
Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...
in Dallas. I think that's really cool that some song I did 35 years ago can have a second life like that."
Crenshaw continues to perform the song live.
Reception
Since its release, "Whenever You're on My Mind" has seen critical acclaim. ''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
'' called the song a "joyous number" that "mine
Crenshaw's shuffle-pop resources effectively."
''
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
s Mark Deming described the song as a "beautiful little tune," while Steve Spears of ''
The Tampa Bay Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute for ...
'' wrote that he preferred it to Crenshaw's biggest hit, "
Someday, Someway."
''
Seattle Weekly
The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...
'' said the song was one of Crenshaw's "great slices of power pop," while ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' praised the song's "walls of hooky sound" and named it one of the songs on Crenshaw's first two albums that "sound as invigorating as ever."
Writer Bruce Pollock named it as one of the 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era, calling it "America's finest power pop of the '80s."
Crenshaw himself has spoken positively of the song, stating, "I always wanted to make a 45 that exploded out of the speakers and grabbed your emotions in the manner of 'When You Walk in the Room' by Jackie DeShannon or '
Be My Baby
"Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number ...
' by
the Ronettes
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Ta ...
. 'Whenever You're on My Mind' nails it for me. The guitars on the intro sound like ... church bells."
Charts
Cover versions
"Whenever You're on My Mind" has been covered by
Ronnie Spector
Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".
...
and
Marti Jones
Marti Jones is an American singer and visual artist known for her albums (solo and with husband Don Dixon) and her paintings. She exhibits visual art as "Marti Jones Dixon."
Early life
Marti Jones grew up in Uniontown, Ohio, United States n ...
.
An Environmental
Muzak
Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments owned by Mood Media.
The name ''Muzak'', a blend of music and the popular camera brand name Kodak, has been in use since 1934 and has been ...
cover of the song was created by Clair Marlo.
References
{{Authority control
1983 singles
1983 songs
Marshall Crenshaw songs
Songs written by Marshall Crenshaw